Banquet In Sternberk

Winnacer, Porter and Rowan head back to the others and inform them as to what is going on and then the convoy continues to move down the trail, traveling southwards. Zdenyek and his retainers wait until the others have caught up with them and then ride alongside the party, chatting away as hey continue with the journey and waiting for the slow cart and Yosef's donkey to catch up when they start to lag too far behind the rest of the party. Zdenyek's giant eagle circles overhead as they make the journey. Tomas and Yana are rather upset by the hunting party's dogs and, after a word from Milly via Winnacer to Zdenyek, the Duke orders to huntsman to go ahead with the dogs in order not to disturb the children any longer.

The temperature continues to fall as the sun gets lower and lower in the sky until it disappears behind the horizon completely just as they see the small town of Sternberk in the distance. It takes them another uneventful hour of travel until they arrive before the gates to the town. They can see that it is a small walled town, scarcely more than an over-sized village that sits in a small valley carved out by the River Sitka, a small river that runs from the hills down to the Morava to the west. The river is frozen solid at the moment.

As they pass through the gates, the party sees that the gates are left open and that there are no guards on duty. Zdenyek and his entourage lead the way as they pass through the center of the town. They notice that the few townspeople who are still on the streets at this time of the evening all wave to the Duke and bid him 'Good Evening', and Zdenyek bids them the same. As they continue through the streets, they pass the 'Sternberk Arms', which Milly, Dax and Damene remember as being the inn where they rested on the first night of their journey to Opava.

They continue up the side of the valley to where they see there is a small keep bearing the Sternberk coat of arms that form part of the town walls. They see Zdenyek's giant eagle fly towards it where it lands in one of the towers, in which it appears to have its nest. As they get close to the castle, they see with some alarm that there is a company of goblin archers manning the gate and the battlements, but trust to Zdenyek to ensure that they don't come to any harm.

As the Duke reaches the gates, the orc sargeant stands to attention while the goblins open the gate for him. Zdenyek's expression is blank as he nods to the sargeant while the party rides past him and bring their horses to a halt in the courtyard before the keep. At the sound of the horses' hooves, a couple of halflings emerge from the stables and take the reins from the party members as they dismount before leading them to the stables. The huntsmen leave at that point to take care of the horses as well.

Gristan leaves the cart outside the door of the main building while the halflings unharness the ponies and lead them to the stables. Dax and Porter take the still form of Faewen'il and carry her into the building while Milly ushers Tomas and Yana in and Maria carries Baby Yazhua.

Upon entering the keep, which is warm and well appointed, a fairly rotund halfling dressed in a neat suit of navy blue velvet comes to greet them. As he sees Zdenyek leading them into the building, he starts to cower and speak in an exaggerated manner:

"Please, Sir," he says, "don't beat me or whip me like the cruel and nasty master that you truly are."

Zdenyek chortles to himself as he sees the halfling's antics:

"That's alright, Benny, there's no need to put on the act this time. These are friends."

The halfling grins:

"Alright then, but I was good though, wasn't I?"

Zdenyek grins and turns to speak to the party:

"I offer my apologies in advance for Mr. UnderHill's behavior, but what he lacks in manners, he makes up for in entertainment value. When we get visitors loyal to the Nyemetz cause, we have to pretend that my 'slaves' have a hard time of things here."

"Can I take yer coats, mates?" Benny asks with a grin. "I've got a mate down the market what can give me a good price for them."

They hand their coats and cloaks to the halfling. As he takes Milly's rather voluminous cloak, he shakes his head:

"Bleedin' 'ell, darlin'," he says in mock anger. "I said coats. I didn't say nuffink about takin' no tents."

Milly chuckles good-naturedly in response.

"That's enough, Benny," Zdenyek warns him while trying to suppress a grin. "Now could you show everyone to the guest rooms, please?"

"No problem," Benny replies.

He then spies Damene:

"Phwoar, darlin'," he exclaims. "I'm afraid that there ain't enough rooms for everyone to 'ave one o' their own, so you'll be sleepin' wiv me. Is that alright, darlin'?"

Damene's eyes widen a little and a slight blush touches her cheeks. She does a double-take to make sure the halfling IS joking, then just gives a little embarrassed smile.

Zdenyek has had enough now:

"Benny UnderHill," he says sternly, "if you continue to embarrass my guests in this way, then you might start to find me a cruel, evil master after all."

This seems to have no effect upon the halfling whatsoever as he leads you inside:

"Have any of yers got any heavy old bags yer want me to carry?" he asks.

"Apart from 'er, o' course," he adds with a nod at Milly.

Milly smiles again, although it seems a bit forced.

Zdenyek sighs:

"I give up with him," he says, shaking his head. "I really do."

Benny proceeds to lead them up the stairs and shows them to your guest rooms, which are large, fairly warm and luxuriously appointed. He continues to pester Damene as he goes:

"Do yer want me to run a bath for yer, darlin'?" he asks. "I'll rub yer back or anyfink else what yer wants rubbin' as well if yer fancies?"

At the word 'bath', it seems like Damene might actually cry for joy, but on hearing the rest of the halfling's words, she turns a little more red. Damene seems amused at the halfling, but it is obvious she wishes the halfling weren't focused on her in quite this way.

They settle down in their rooms and spend a while cleaning the grime from the journey off their bodies before putting on the best clothes that they have with them and heading down the wide staircase. They find that Benny is there again, holding a tray containing several glasses of clear brandy:

"Go on, mates, get yer lips round these," he smirks. "It'll put some 'air on yer chests."

He winks at Damene once again:

"I'll be up to check that it does, later."

Damene moves to cross her arms and then seems to think better of it.

Benny wasn't completely joking, they find when they sample the strong plum brandy known as Slivovitze that the region is famous for, and those who are not used to drinking find that it is strong stuff indeed. Dax, however, seems to find it very much to his liking, however:

"Mmmm," he hums appreciatively. "If you're not careful, this fine brew'll stunt your growth."

"You must not have been too careful," he says to Benny, with a grin before he returns to trying to ignore him.

Benny grins in response:

"Yer ain't wrong there, mate," he replies. "Where d'ya think the expression 'gettin' legless' comes from?"

Porter downs the brandy with gusto, finding that it warms his chilled limbs. He looks at his empty glass for a moment before asking for a refill from Benny, saying:

"It's not quite 'Suck' but it's good."

Zdenyek and his two sons arrive and the party members head with him to the dinner table. Benny comes round and pushes everyone's seat in and then gives everyone their napkins. He seems quite insistent that he should tuck Damene's napkin into her cleavage until she finally gets him to leave her alone. Damene gives a small sigh of relief as the halfling relinquishes and actually doesn't follow through. She lays the napkin across her lap and turns her attention to the meal. It's obvious that somewhere along the way she has been given proper instruction in dinner etiquette, but throughout the evening she casts occasional glances at Winnacer and Rowan to make sure she's using the proper fork.

They then all begin to indulge in conversation while Benny starts to serve them all with their food, starting with a thick partridge soup.

As he watches Benny serve the dishes, Zdenyek calls out to him:

"Benny, should anything that you serve 'accidentally' land in Miss Solaris' lap this evening, then I'd just like to tell you that you will be spending the night with the goblins," he says with a wicked grin. "I do know how much you love their company, and they yours."

This seems to bother the halfling:

"The thought 'ad never crossed my mind, yer Dukeship," Benny lies.

Damene smiles softly and continues to blush as she addresses the Duke:

"There's no need for that... " her brow furrows a bit, "...Your Grace?...After a few days on the road, flattery in any form is appreciated."

She stops to straighten her napkin and send the halfling a look of mock-censure before continuing.

"Almost any form."

She then smiles softly at Benny to ensure that he doesn't think she's taken any offense to his jesting. He obviously doesn't, as he immediately retorts with a grin and says:

"There ain't nuffink wrong wiv your form from where I'm standin', darlin'."

The halfling comes over to serve Milly:

"Is a bowl all right for yer, darlin'?" he asks with a grin. "I can get yer a bucket instead if yer'd prefer?"

After the events of the last few days, it appears that Milly's good nature has run out. Turning to the Duke, she says:

"I'm very sorry for disturbing your dinner."

Pushing her chair back and standing suddenly, she reaches down with both hands and grabs the halfling's shirtfront. Pulling him up to her almost six-foot height, she stares at him nose-to-nose letting his feet dangle. This comes as a complete shock to Benny, whose face blanches and he starts to shake a little.

Her eyes narrowed, she says quietly, but in a voice that carries very clearly:

"Now you may be an oppressed race, so I've tolerated ya' up to a point. But I've put up with a lot myself the last coupla' days. So let me make myself perfectly clear; I saw a well in town on the ride in. I'm sure it's a deep one. If you take one more shot at me, you're gonna be able to tell your master there exactly HOW deep it is."

"Do we understand each other?"

"Y-y-y-yes darlin'.. . I mean, madam" the halfling replies.

Still holding the halfling in the air with both hands, Milly turns and seats him unceremoniously on the table. Reaching down and picking up her glass, she drains it and returns it to its place on the table.

Looking back at the Duke again, she says:

"Sorry if I've trampled on your hospitality."

She then turns and leaves the table.

Damene watches Milly go and half rises before, with an almost visible effort, she keeps herself seated at the table. She bites hard on her lower lip and spends a moment staring at the plate in front of her. When she looks up again, her face is composed and she smiles softly around the table. If she grips her glass a little harder, at least she doesn't crush it.

Porter, who has been finding Benny to be most entertaining all night, is surprised to see Milly rise from the table and leave. He shakes his head slightly, thinking that this group of newcomers had to be the most thin-skinned group of people he had ever met in his life. Shrugging, he sips some more of his wine with a smile.

Once Milly is well out of the room, Benny gets up, brushes the crumbs of food from his blue velvet jacket, gets down off the table and shakes his head:

"Bleedin' 'ell," he exclaims. "What's got 'er knickers in a twist, d'ya reckon?" he asks.

"Weren't somefing I said, was it?"

He scratches his head for a moment and then shakes it:

"Naw, must just be 'er time o' the month, or somefing."

"It would probably be wise for you to go get the bucket," Dax replies to Benny, coldly.

"Something to catch the blood, y'know," Dax mumbles as he moves the cup to his lips -- though obviously intending Benny to hear.

"My, but what a blessing our good host has in such 'attentive' help as you!" he adds sarcastically.

Benny grins and shrugs:

"Yeah, not everyone's as lucky as 'is Dukeship to 'ave someone like me waitin' on 'im."

Rowan watches Milly go, then turns to the irritating halfling:

"Let that be a lesson to you. Milly is not to be trifled with."

"Looks like she's been trifled wiv enough already," Benny replies with another chuckle. "Trifled wiv, caked wiv, blancmanged wiv, jellied wiv..."

"M'Lord," Rowan says, turning to the Duke, "you truly have a compassionate and patient heart to tolerate such insolence in your servants. A lesser man would have Mr. UnderHill here whipped for such behavior. It is fortunate for him that you have such trust in the magnanimity of your guests."

"I dunno about a whippin', but I wouldn't mind a bit of a spankin'," he grinned, his eyes sparkling as he looks towards Damene.

He walks over to her and begins to unbutton his pants:

"How about it, darlin'?"

Before Benny can get too far, he is interrupted by a loud 'THUMP' on the table that sends the plates all clattering.

"ENOUGH!" shouts Zdenyek, his face red with rage, or perhaps it's just the wine. "You've gone too far now. I don't mind a little entertainment, but now you are embarrassing the guests and I simply won't have it. Now behave yourself or you'll be staying with the goblins tonight."

Winnacer turns a knowing look to Duke Sternbeck:

"Would you excuse me, Sir? I will be back in a blink of an eye."

The Duke nods, still furious:

"If you are going to see Madam Fradiska, then please pass on my apologies for the disgraceful behavior of my butler."

Winnacer heads upstairs to find Milly and see how she's doing. He finds her in Maria's room, where the two women are entertaining the three children. The young Lord can see that the children are relaxed now, seemingly having gotten over the terror of their recent experiences. He can see that Tomas and Jana have really warmed to the two women.

"Are you alright Milly?" the young Lord asks. "Is there anything I can bring for you after the dinner is over?"

Milly assures Winnacer that she is all right, although she still seems somewhat upset. Not wanting to incur her wrath, Winnacer tells her not to hesitate to call upon him if there is anything that he can do for her and then returns to the banquet.

Once order is restored, Benny returns, looking a little sheepish and starts to serve their meal. The soup is absolutely delicious and Zdenyek informs the party that he employs only halflings in the kitchen as no one cooks quite as well as they do. Benny clears away the soup bowls and then brings out platter after platter of the most wonderful food that the party members have seen for a very long time. He struggles under the weight of a roast boar, which is followed by a goose, platters full of fish and also a haunch of venison along with a mountain of potatoes and other vegetables. Benny then comes out with a huge decanter of red wine and fills everyone's goblets up to the brim.

They all serve themselves and spend the next hour feasting until they cannot manage another mouthful. Benny then clears the plates away and brings baskets of fruits and plates of cakes, which he lays on the table.

Once again, he grins at Damene:

"None o' the cakes for you, darlin'," he grins. "You're too sweet enough as it is already."

They continue to chat over the dessert while Benny continues to fill their wine glasses, whether they ask him to or not.

Porter inquires of the Duke:

"I can certainly appreciate the difficult position the occupation of Bohavia puts you in, and I understand some things you cannot do, as they would jeopardize the greater good. However, a couple of things have caught my attention. For example, the quarterly tax. I imagine the tax collector probably covers a large area around these parts. His identity and the time of his next collection might be of use to some people."

Rowan smirks as if amused by a stirred memory:

"Oh, I should think so, indeed."

Zdenyek smiles and then shakes his head:

"I know what you're thinking, but I would prefer it if you put those thoughts out of your mind as quickly as possible," he replies. "As Lord Protektor of Sternberk and the surrounding area, the collection of taxes is my responsibility until I deliver them to Olmutz. Should anything untoward happen to the funds on route to Olmutz, then it would be my fault and I would be obliged to come up with the lost funds one way or another, which would probably mean my having to take the money from the townspeople all over again, as I need to provide my quota."

"I can tell you that the day I need to deliver the taxes to Olmutz is just about the only day when I am glad to have the wretched greenskins around me."

Porter nods, saying:

"I certainly wouldn't want to endanger you and your town. However, if you could tell us the next date of tax collection being due, that would be useful. Our group is likely to be gone from the immediate area anyway, and there are some other Lord Protektor's who may need a little help carrying their tax collections to Mynesto. If we knew what date they would be traveling there, we might be able to help them with the load. Of course, we would only help those Lord Protektors unlike yourself, in particular those who would send young men off to fight for the Nyemetz."

Zdenyek nods:

"As long as you promise that you won't interfere with my tax collections, then I don't mind what you do," he replies. "The Lord High Chancellor has decreed that all taxes must be in Mnyesto on the last day of each quarter at the very latest. No excuses are acceptable. Due to the long journey time that it takes to get to the capital from the more distant cities, it means that the taxes need to be collected earlier to keep to the deadline. For example, Devarek asks for my taxes to be in Olmutz a month prior to the deadline so that he can consolidate them and then send them on to Mnyesto, which is roughly a two-week journey from here. So I had to have my last set of taxes with him before 30 November, and need to have the next lot ready for him before 28 February."

"So that should give you as a clue as where you need to be when, exactly. If you really wanted to take out a tax convoy, then I would tell you to watch the roads close to Mnyesto in the last couple of weeks of each quarter. You can pretty much guarantee that most of the taxes will be going along those roads at that time."

"I would warn you, however, that the Nyemetz are not stupid and know what an attractive target that such a convoy would make and so make sure that the convoys are well protected. It is not an undertaking that I would advise your attempting without great resources at your disposal."

Benny comes around carrying a basket of fruit at waist level. He comes up to Damene once more:

"Are yer feelin' fruity tonight, darlin'?" he asks, his grin having returned. "D'ya fancy a quick grope ... I mean, grape?"

Rowan leans over to Damene and speaks in low tones:

"The halflings, as a people, have produced so many fine comedians and entertainers... it's a pity we're stuck with this Mr. UnderHill."

"I must commend your staff on this fine meal," he says, turning to Zdenyek. "It has been too long since I have sampled such succulent fare. Mrs. Veverka's rustic cuisine was undoubtedly hearty and filling, but it lacks a certain-- what is the word?-- sophistication that is found only in houses of quality such as yours, m'Lord."

The Duke smiles broadly at the compliment. He is looking fairly drunk by now:

"Why, thank you, Mr. Farelith," he replies. "You are obviously quite the gourmet; a rarity in Bohavia in these dark times. I can take little of the credit for the meal, however. It all comes down to fine ingredients and someone who knows what to do with them."

"Isn't that right, Benny."

"Yer not wrong there, yer Dukeship," Benny replies with a chortle. "I made sure the scullery maids all got a good goose before they started cooking this evening."

Dax smiles genuinely and appreciatively, and distractedly, before scowling a bit as he catches sight of Benny, -- looking as disappointed as if he might have just caught a bad aftertaste.

"I can't remember if I've ever had so much finery in one sitting, my good fellow! It'd best end here though, else I might have to sleep it off a month or two."

"By the by," he adds off-handedly, "where have the two children and the young lass who we brought in with us got to? I want to look in on them before we have to call this a night."

"I believe that Mrs. Kristus is caring for them," Zdenyek replies. "I have had one of the maids take food up to her, since she could not attend the banquet."

"I'd also like to find Milly before you end up with a sudden opening on your staff -- which you might consider regardless, I'm sorry to have to say," Dax can't stop himself from saying, with a hard look at Benny, though his eyes look regretful at the necessity of the comment.

"My, my," Rowan contributes, "such sage advice! You'd think he'd run a castle of his own, m'Lord."

He is clearly trying to smooth things over on both ends, not wanting to offend Zdenyek indirectly by insulting his servants, but not wanting to create further tension at the table, either.

Winnacer cannot help but shake his head at Dax speaks his words. His apologetic eyes look to Lord Sternbeck; the young Lord obviously uncomfortable at the mockery his colleagues were making of this Court.

He nods with agreement with Rowan's words.

"I would imagine that Milly has gone up to be with Maria in the children in that case," Dax continues. "My thanks for your kind hospitality this evening, but I think that I had better go and see that they are all OK now."

Dax gets up from his seat, shakes Zdenyek by the hand and then heads upstairs to check on the women and children.

Benny comes around with after-dinner brandies for those that are still drinking and Zdenyek, who is by now very drunk indeed, starts to chat about himself and the town, requiring only occasional encouragement from Winnacer to send him rambling on.

He tells Winnacer and the others that are interested that the castle has been here before the town, although remains of an older Celtic settlement existed have been found in the area. His ancestors started to build the castle in 3253, with the work being finished in 3269. The town of Sternberk grew up under the castle's shadow and was officially founded in 3296.

Since then, the town has continued to grow, to the point where there are currently a little over 1400 inhabitants, making it a small, but significant, town by Bohavian standards. The main activities in the town are agriculture and forestry, with the production of wines and the plum brandy, Slivovitze, which they drank at the start of the meal, being the major forms of income for the town.

With some disappointment, he tells them that Sternberk used to have a small gnomish population that were clockmakers, being responsible for many of the clocks that can be found upon the Cathedrals of Olmutz and further afield, yet the business came to an abrupt halt following the seizing of the gnomes at the start of the occupation.

As the conversation continues, Zdenyek speaks of more personal matters and tells Winnacer that his wife, who he still misses terribly, died during giving birth to Edvard, his youngest son, 21 years ago. The Duke is very proud of his two sons. His oldest son, Lubor, Zdenyek tells Winnacer, is shaping up to be a fine successor and is already very involved in town matters, running the family vineyards so that Zdenyek can concentrate on administrative measures. Edvard, he says proudly, has his mother's brains and is currently on a break from Mnyesto University, where he has been studying for the past few years. He says that Edvard is a painter of some repute.

The Duke's sons' silence worries Winnacer a little, nervous that they may have Nyemetz sympathies. As Zdenyek continues to talk about himself and his family at length, Winancer toys with the amulet and listens in on the sons' thoughts. Lubor, he finds, is rather bored with the banquet. He seems to have little interest in the political situation at all, being more interested in the family business. Winnacer can detect that Lubor is very worried about the continuing approach of the Slovenes and obviously does not share his father's interest in military matters, being ill-trained in the use of his blade, despite all of his father's efforts.

Edvard is also rather bored by the conversation. He seems to have been attracted by the big city life in Mnyesto and longs to return there to get away from the mundane nature of rural life. At the University, Edvard studies history and fine art and also participates in the dramatic arts. Winnacer inquires as to whether Edvard knows of any of the other University students that the party has met. The only name that is known to both the party and Edvard is that of the late Vladimir Lenyn. Edvard has heard of him and had seen him, but did not know him well, as the artists and the political science students had little to do with each other. Edvard tells Winnacer that Lenyn and most of the other political science students left the University following the imprisonment of their lecturers, Mareks and Engels, nearly a year ago.

Much to Winnacer's discomfort, the probing of the amulet reveals to the LawBringer that Edvard is actually gay and, when Edvard thoughts start to turn to the attractions of Winnacer's lithe, yet muscular body, Winnacer drops the amulet as if it were suddenly red hot, having learned that there are some personal thoughts that are best left unread for the sake of all concerned.

Winnacer tries to blame the color of his now ruddy cheeks upon the wine and quickly changes the subject of the conversation onto other matters:

"Have you heard any news as of late?" he asks. "Rumors abound of many happening around Bohavia and I was curious to know of the local gossip."

Zdenyek replies that all that people talk about is the approach of the Slovenes, a subject that is causing a great deal of panic amongst everyone in eastern Bohavia, unsurprisingly. The only other major news that he has heard recently is that there was a major fire in Hradetz Kralovye a few weeks ago, although he has not heard any of the details. He apologizes for not being better informed about what is happening in the country, but he has little time for petty gossip, preferring to spend his time hunting when not attending to official matters. He is a follower of Lov, God of Hunting, and there is a monastery in the town where he attends services every morning and twice on Sundays.

"We have seen much in our recent adventures, things that will effect men such as yourself," Winnacer says as the Duke eventually stops to take a breath.

The young Lord's glance falls to the halfling servants:

"Are you prepared if hard times soon fall upon Eastern Bohemia? For if not, perhaps we can aid you."

This arouses the Duke's interest:

"I don't think that anywhere in Bohavia is properly prepared for the onslaught," he replies sadly. "I have raised a town militia and started instructing them in the art of warfare in case they get this far. I would have liked to have started it earlier, but the Nyemetz would not allow it before things started to look bleak."

"We have also started storing foodstuffs in case we are besieged for any length of time, but I'm not sure that this is going to be enough."

The Duke shakes his head sadly:

"So what assistance do you think that you could provide us with?" he asks.

"We may be able to aid you in obtaining some cheap arms and armor from Opava," Winnacer replies. "After some recent events, they seem to have a surplus. Such gear will need some refitting, but it will certainly be worth the price."

"We can give you some contacts in Opava to speak with, and they should be very helpful if you tell them that I sent you their way."

Zdenyek nods:

"Well the townspeople could certainly do with some better weaponry than the agricultural flails and pitchforks that most of them are armed with at the moment," he replies. "I would have arranged for better weaponry earlier had we any weaponsmiths in the town, but we do not. I think it could be well worth sending a delegation to Opava if you could provide me with the contacts."

Winnacer nods and then ponders for a second:

"I could also ask of the Church of Radegast in Olmutz to send a representative to aid in training your men. However, I cannot be sure they would cooperate, and may wish to train them away from the eyes of the present garrison."

"That would be useful also," Zdenyek agrees. "The followers of Lov and Radegast are on favorable terms with each other and that would certainly help with the training. I'm sure that I can arrange for the garrison to be elsewhere during their training sessions."

"We also may be able to supply you with some capable arms if such a struggle arises," Winnacer continues. "We have met some stout dwarves from the village of Litultovitze, who have proved themselves invaluable on our recent journeys. It seems that the land they have been living on has been poisoned by a newly discovered mineral and has become inhospitable. They have all but come to the realization that they will have to move their village. Perhaps an invitation from your Lordship may provide them with a place to settle, at least in the short term."

"Having dwarven craftmanship and contacts may be very useful in the months to come. Amongst them are two dwarven Priests, whose powers for healing and control over the stone itself also could be very beneficial to your town."

"Again, I could not promise that they would choose this. But, if you are interested, it could not hurt to speak with them."

"I agree," Zdenyek nods. "There are no stouter fighters than dwarves and the part of the town where the gnomes used to live has never been reoccupied and so they would not have to build too many new homes. Not that they take up that much space in any case."

Winnacer nods once more, pleased to have solved two problems together. He proceeds to give Zdenyek the contact information that he needs and the Duke tells the young Lord that he will visit Sudeten in the next few days in order to progress the matters.

Conversation continues for another hour until everyone realizes that, by now, it is getting very late and that the party has another early start in order that they reach Olmutz before curfew. All realize that it is time to head off to bed. Damene's wine glass remains untouched, as any glass filled with spirits placed before her always does. At the end of the meal, she quietly thanks the Duke and his sons for their hospitality and makes to leave. The Duke apologizes once more for any embarrassment that Benny may have caused her and bids her goodnight. Rowan, Winnacer, Dax, Porter, Gristan and Yosef are also getting tired now after the early start and long ride of the day and also bid the Sternberk family goodnight before heading up the stairs to their rooms.

On her way up the stairs, Damene approaches Winnacer. She lays a light hand on his arm and looks at him as if she has something to say. Finally she just smiles and squeezes his arm, before moving on to find Milly. Winnacer watches Damene run off with curious interest. After a thoughtful moment the LawBringer shrugs and heads back upon his business. The others are also worried about Milly and so look for her also. They find her still in Maria's room, along with Dax, where the pair of them are talking now that Maria and the three children are all asleep.

Upon entering the room, Damene stands in front of Milly with her head bowed:

"I don't know whether you'd be proud of me or not for not running him through."

She looks up at the older woman with a smile and teary eyes, then leans forward to hug her.

"I know you don't need to hear it from me, but I think...I think you're perfect, Milly. I think your Dinosh shoulda been praying every day to whoever decided to bless him with you."

Damene places a quick kiss on Milly's cheek and gives her another hug.

Milly's face is a study in surprise at Damene's words:

"Perfect?!" she questions. "I'm a big hypocrite, that's what I am. Here I am tellin' ya to not to let some obnoxious boob get ya all riled up and the first time someone takes a shot at ME, I proceed to manhandle him in front'a everybody."

Damene's smile gets a little broader as she teases Milly.

"Well yeah, but I wasn't going to mention THAT..."

Shaking her head, Milly continues with a sad smile:

"I could always depend on Dinosh to cool me off before someone got hurt. I really shouldn't be doin' this by myself."

"You're not by yourself," Damene replies before she gives the older woman another hug.

"Maria and I have been talkin' about the kids," Milly then says quietly so as not to wake them. "She's taken a likin' to 'em like I've done and the kids like her too."

She seems a little sad as she continues:

"I've been wonderin' whether to leave ya all and look after them myself, but the kids need a father, and I can't help them there."

"So I think it's best if Maria looks after the pair o' them. With the gold that they got off the Three Wise Guys, they're not badly off any more and so they should be able to give them a good home."

The others all nod in agreement, glad that the problem of providing a home for the children has been solved so easily.

With that, everyone takes their leave of each other and head for their rooms, where they soon fall asleep on the large warm and comfortable beds in the Sternberk residence.

 

4 JANUARY 3461

It is quite an effort for everyone to get out of bed the following morning, partly because of the sore heads that many have after the excesses of the previous evening and also because of the fact that the beds are so warm and comfortable that the idea of going back into the cold is not in the slightest appealing.

Everyone heads out of bed and attends to their morning ablutions before heading down to breakfast, which is being served in the banqueting room. Both Milly and Damene are rather relieved to see that Benny is nowhere to be seen this morning, as the table is being waited upon by a couple of halfling scullery maids, dressed in starched white linen aprons.

"Good to see you all," the voice of Zdenyek booms out in greeting as he sees them all coming down to breakfast.

Upon seeing the look of trepidation upon the faces of the women, the Duke smiles:

"Have no fear, ladies," he says to them, "after his performance last night, Benny is waiting upon the goblins today."

Milly speaks up sheepishly:

"I wanna apologize again for last night. I'm not sure why Mr. UnderHill got under my skin like he did, but that doesn't justify what I did."

Zdenyek smiles and holds up his hands in apology:

"Please, madam, there is no need to apologize," he replies. "It is not the first time that my guests have taken offense at the words of my butler. On occasions there have actually been long chains of angry people chasing him around the castle trying to get their hands on him, believe it or not."

They sit down to breakfast and start to work their way through the mountains of eggs, bacon, porridge and quail laid out for them. Even Gristan has difficulty in making much of an impact upon it, however. Once they are finished, they all get up to leave. Zdenyek seems quite sorry that they are leaving:

"Best of luck upon your business in Olmutz," he says to them as they get up to leave. "If you are ever passing this way again, then I would be delighted to entertain you once again."

They all shake Zdenyek and his sons by the hand and thank him for his generous hospitality before he escorts the party to the door. As they walk out into the yard, they can see that it is snowing lightly at the moment and, from the layer of new snow that coats the ground, it has been doing so for quite a while.

The halfling stablelads quickly arrive with their horses and they also harness the ponies up to Gristan's cart. They then help Dax and Porter to place Faewen'il there once more and to assist Maria and the children to get it there along with her. The rest of them then mount their horses and start to make their way towards the gate of the keep, waving to Zdenyek who watches them leave.

They quietly pass the orc sargeant and its goblin troopers who stare at them as they make their way out of the castle grounds before they close the gates after them. The party then descends the side of the valley heading towards the town center where they cross the low bridge over the frozen river and head for the south gate to Sternberk.

They quickly pass through the town gate, which is unguarded as usual and are then back in the white countryside, on the final leg of their journey to Olmutz. The fresh snow has made the trail even more treacherous than it was before, which slows their journey down even more. They can see that there are no footprints ahead of them in the snow.

They continue traveling through the morning. The ground here is flat and is more heavily forested than the rest of their journey and they can see the large expanse of forest to the right of them as they continue onwards. A little after noon, it stops snowing, although it doesn't raise the temperature any. Having eaten such a large breakfast, they decide to forego stopping for lunch and rather continue riding throughout the afternoon so as to reach Olmutz all the sooner.

By late afternoon, everyone's muscles are aching and they are frozen through to the bone and it is only the fact that they know that tey are getting closer to Olmutz with every step that they take and that they are very nearly there now, that keeps them going.

Dusk is just starting to fall when they reach the end of the trail and arrive on the stone road that runs from Olmutz to Prerov. The tracks in the fresh snow show that there have been a few horses and carts down this way since it stopped snowing a few hours back.

They head west onto the road and increase the pace due to the better quality of the road here. Just as the sun finally sets, they can see the city walls and the many tall spires of Olmutz ahead of them. Knowing that they are very nearly at the end of their journey now leads everyone to put the last of their strength towards getting to the city as quickly as possible and, an hour later, they are rolling towards the city walls finally.

As Winnacer sees the gate, he is filled with bad memories at what transpired here last time that he was to pass through:

"Last time we were at this gate, they were checking everyone going in or out very carefully. Let's all take care here."

Dax shrugs:

"We didn't have any problem getting through it at all when we went through here ten days ago."

Porter dismounts:

"Let me go and see what the situation is at the gate at the moment. I shall be back in a few minutes."

With that, the bounty hunter disappears off into the darkness. He returns a little over ten minutes later, looking quite pleased:

"Looks like they don't fancy standing around in the cold," he reports. "The gate is open and unguarded, but there are orcish archers in the towers."

Winnacer looks relieved at the news:

"Good," he replies. "In that case, providing that we don't do anything really stupid, then we should not have any problems."

Porter mounts his horse once more and leads them through to the gate. Upon reaching it, they see that the bounty hunter's report was correct and they pass through the gate without incident, although they can see the orcish archers checking the party out from where they sit in the gatetower.

All are greatly relieved at having finished the long and arduous journey back from Opava and are looking forward to getting into a warm inn for the evening. However, all are curious to know what Yaz and Candy have been up to since their arrival in the city and also to find out what the latest situation is within Olmutz.

"I think that we should go and meet up with Yaz and Candy before we settle down for the evening, so let's head straight for the Druid's grove," suggests Winnacer.

No one disagrees, especially considering the fact that the park containing the Druid's grove is not far away from their current location, being situated in the northeast of the city.

As they lead their horses through the streets of Olmutz, they look at the city in a new light, seeing how beautiful that the city is compared to the grime and squalor of Opava.

They head through the narrow deserted streets of the Parish of the Elder Gods, the Parish that is jointly run by the smaller Churches of the first generation of gods including Dazbag, the Sun God; Perun the Storm God; Zemnye, the Earth God as well as Lov and Seela. As the popularity of the gods has lessened, so has the size of their parishes, until they were amalgamated into one. The shops and houses here are very run down, and the area is home to many of the area's remaining nonhumans, mostly dwarves. In part of the area, the rows of tiny houses are completely empty, as if it were a ghost town. From the names on some of the faded signs above empty boarded up shops and taverns, they realize that the reason for the area's emptiness is because this was formerly the halfling and gnomish ghetto areas.

They carry on through the lonely, dark streets until they see that the buildings have petered out and there is now an expanse of parkland ahead of them. They leave the cobbled streets behind them and start to walk through the layer of untouched white snow lying upon the ground.

It is hard to make out because of the blanket of snow, but they can see that this area must be beautiful in the summer, as there are carefully cropped hedgerows and expanses of square cut earth that must be flowerbeds in season. The trees here are all in rows, forming wide boulevards through the park.

As they continue onwards, however, the regimented gardens begin to break up and the park seems to be nothing more than a piece of wasteland, as if they were back riding in the midst of the countryside. They realize that they must be getting close to the center of the Parish of Prirodna.

Gristan stops the wagon, as he knows that it would not be possible to take it through the trees:

"I'll wait here with the cart, the magess, the kids an' the Kristus family," he says. "Don't worry, I'll look after them."

The rest of them ride through a quite densely packed area of woodland, which they would have expected to be alive with the sound of birdsong and other forms of woodland creatures. However, all that they can hear is an eerie silence in the area that is most disturbing.

Soon, the woodland finishes and they find yourselves in a clearing. In the clearing, they soon make out the ruins of the druidic village. As they continue to ride towards it, the first thing that they see is the remains of a druidic stone circle. The formerly huge and impressive structure has been pulled down; now it is little more than a collection of huge obelisks, scattered around, seemingly at random. Many of the stone are standing upright, but few of the horizontal stones are standing on top of them. Many of the stones lurch dangerously; ready to topple at any moment.

They get closer still and see the remains of the shantytown that used to surround the stone circle. They can see that it used to consist of a large number of simple wattle and daub huts. They can see the remains of them, now all blackened and burned, almost beyond recognition. Most of them, however, are just small circles of charcoal and scorched bare earth indicating where the huts used to be.

They walk through the rows of burned out huts. As they do so, they make a sickening discovery. Several of the burned out huts are filled with scorched bones. It appears as if the Nyemetz forced the druids into the huts and then burned them alive. They can almost hear the druids' screams as they look at the grisly sight.

For Winnacer, Rowan and Porter, who have not seen the devastation before, it is a most disturbing sight, particularly for Winnacer, who well remembers what the village was like before the Nyemetz attack. For Milly, Damene and Dax, the sight is slightly less disturbing, as they have seen it once before. Yet, even for them, it is an unsettling sight, as the atmosphere seems even more dark and oppressive and disturbing than it was before.

They look around them, trying to figure out the reason for it. It seems to them that the trees around the grove are dying slowly now and it almost appears as if the tree trunks and the fallen stones have faces appearing in them that seem tortured; wracked in agony.